Sleep before this time and avoid psychological problems

According to a recent study from Stanford University, anyone who goes to bed after this time could develop psychological problems.

A new sleep study published in the journal Psychiatric research Highlights the potential risks associated with late bedtimes. According to researchers, going to bed regularly after this time can increase the risk of developing mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

This magical “time”? People who usually sleep after 1 a.m. should continue reading now. The researchers analyzed sleep and health data from 73,888 participants from Great Britain (UK Biobank) to find out how sleep time affects health.

Before one o’clock in the morning

Outside Results People who regularly go to bed after 1 a.m. have been shown to be more likely to suffer from mental health problems than people who go to bed early. Interestingly, this association is independent of whether people classify themselves as early risers or night owls (chronotypes).

Researchers originally expected that individuals who coordinated their actual sleep time with their morning/evening preferences would have the best mental health, but this was not the case.

“Conversely, we found that waking up late at night, regardless of preferred bedtime, was associated with poorer mental health,” said Jamie Setzer, a professor of psychology and behavioral sciences at Stanford University. We’ve found that adapting to your chronotype isn’t crucial here, and waking up late isn’t good for your mental health. “We were very surprised and spent more than a year trying to refute our findings, but were unable to find an alternative explanation.”

Of the participants, 19,065 identified as morning types, 6,844 as evening types, and 47,979 as intermediate types. People who matched their chronotype were 20% to 40% more likely to develop a mental disorder than those with an early or middle sleep schedule. Those who rise with the sun tend to have the best mental health.

Lees ook: Waarom val je 's avonds op de bank in slaap

Mind after midnight

Researchers believe the findings may be linked to the ‘midnight mind’ hypothesis, which says waking up after midnight can increase the risk of reckless and harmful behaviour.

“If I had to hazard a guess, people who stay up late in the morning are well aware that their brains aren’t working properly, so they may delay making bad decisions,” says Zeitzer. “Meanwhile, the person late at night is thinking, ‘I feel great. This is a great decision I’m going to make at 3 a.m.’”

There is one caveat. The UK Biobank is mainly made up of white, middle-aged or older people. This can limit the “generalizability” of the results, as not all populations are represented in a sleep study.

One of the key aspects addressed in sleep research is the association between later sleep times and a reduction in the all-important rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stage. REM sleep is crucial for a person’s emotional regulation and cognitive functions. A lack of REM sleep due to late bedtimes can increase the risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety.

Experts recommend sleeping seven to nine hours per night. Zetzer recommends that night owls try to adopt an earlier routine and change their sleep patterns, although this is difficult and will not change their chronotype. “Biologically, it’s a lot like a rubber band: You take a day off and get back to where your body wants to be.”